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Research by University of Notre Dame scientists found nearly 10 percent of the 753 plants listed as threatened and endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act are being advertised for sale online, a university release said Thursday.

Many are being bought by groups involved in "assisted colonization" projects where species or genetic subtypes at risk of extinction are moved to non-native environments in which they might thrive, researchers say.

However, scientists say, the widespread transfer of endangered or threatened plants poses both environmental and economic risks, and they a calling for government agencies to take a leadership role to monitor relocations because of the risks associated with introducing new species.

Notre Dame biologists Patrick Shirey and Gary Lamberti point to studies reporting that damage from invasive plant species costs more than $30 billion in the United States by damaging crops, pastures and ecosystems.

Unchecked species redistribution presents dangers, they say, and they urge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to better monitor the movement of plants around the world and enforce existing legislation.

"Environmental agencies and governing bodies must better enforce existing species protection laws, and establish new legal frameworks to monitor and manage this rising tide of species redistribution", Shirey says.

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